Cognitive Science

The latest breakthroughs, innovations, and cool happenings at the cutting edge of the world of cognitive science. Updated daily.

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Producing Cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus and Extended Amygdala Show Age-Dependent FOS and FOSB/DeltaFOSB Immunoreactivity in Acute and Chronic Stress Models in the Rat

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) immunoreactive (ir) neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) play pivotal role in the coordination of stress response. CRF-producing cells in the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) and oval division of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTov) are also involved in stress adaptation and mood control. Immediate early gene […]

Published on October 9, 2019

Cracking Down on Complexity in the Evolving Brain

Louail et al. analyzed the brains of five primate species to determine factors driving size differences. In addition to analyzing the volume of the whole brain, they considered specific brain regions. In doing so, they linked the size of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex with foraging complexity across species. Read Full Article (External Site) Dr. David LowemannDr. […]

Published on October 8, 2019

Mnemonic Similarity Task: A Tool for Assessing Hippocampal Integrity

The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory, relying in part on pattern separation processes supported by the dentate gyrus (DG) to prevent interference from overlapping memory representations. In 2007, we designed the Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST), a modified object recognition memory task, to be highly sensitive to hippocampal function by placing strong demands on […]

Published on October 7, 2019